When you register your business as a DBA, or doing business as, and want to change it to a LLC, or limited liability company, you go through the process of registering the LLC as you would any business. Because a DBA is a registration to use a business name, it is not a business structure as is the case with a LLC. Changing a DBA to a LLC requires you to go through the steps of registering the business with the state in which it operates.

Identify whether a business has registered the DBA name. Even when you register a DBA for your business name, this does not prohibit someone else from registering the name with the state. Visit your state’s secretary of state office and use the online search option to search for the name you want to use for the LLC. If the name is already registered with the state, then you have to modify the name or change the name of the business. If nobody else is using the name, then you can register the DBA name as the name of the LLC.

Download or obtain the LLC application. Contact the secretary of state or go to the website to obtain or download the forms you need to complete and submit to register the LLC. You will also receive a list of supporting documents that must accompany the application, as well as the fee the state requires you to pay to register the business as a LLC.

State the name of the registered agent. In addition to the application and fee, you have to supply the name, address and phone number for a registered agent for the business. This may be you or it may be someone else involved in the business. The registered agent is the point of contact when it comes to registering the business and maintaining up-to-date records with the state.

Write the Articles of Incorporation. Along with the other paperwork, you also have to submit an Articles of Incorporation for the LLC. This includes information, such as the name and address of the business, how the business operates, who is in charge of the LLC (managers or members) and whether shares are issued and who has the power to issue shares.

Apply for a Employee Identification Number of Taxpayer Identification Number. If your business does not already have a federal tax identification number, then contact the Internal Revenue Service by phone or its website to apply for and obtain one. You need this number to act as an employer and a business, and file your federal tax returns for the business.

Contact the county. Contact the city hall, county clerk’s office or business department for the county or city where you operated the DBA. Let them know that you have registered the business as a LLC. The representative will let you know if the county requires anything further from you to prove it is a LLC rather than simply a DBA.